Genealogy, local history and historical research in New England and other interesting places. Nutfield was the former land grant ................................. that is now the towns of Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire.

Pages

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Hutchinson Family Singers Civil War Song Lyrics

Sheet music for "Get Off the Track!", 1844

Over the past few years I've written several blog posts about the Hutchinson Family Singers. Their father, Jesse Hutchinson (1778 – 1851)
was a 3rd cousin many generations removed. He bought his home in Milford, New Hampshire from my 5th great grandfather, Colonel Joshua Burnham, and they were lifelong friends. His eldest son, Jesse, Jr. (1813 – 1853), saw
several performances in Boston of European singers using four part
harmony. He taught his brothers to sing
in four part harmony to mimic what he saw on stage, and put together a
traveling show. Their twelve year old
sister, Abby (1829- 1892), joined the brothers and they became a national
sensation. They introduced four part harmony to American audiences, and it has become a very American musical tradition.

As the first celebrity
musical act in American history, the Hutchinson Family Singers used their fame
to advance progressive causes. They sang
about women’s suffrage, abolitionism, temperance, Native American causes, and
worker’s rights. They are most famous
for their Civil War Era songs. Their
most famous song was probably “Tenting Tonight on the Old Campground”. Their most controversial performance was on
17 January 1862 at the Fairfax Courthouse in Virginia, when some of the troops
protested the anti-slavery lyrics of a musical version of John Greenleaf
Whittier’s poem “We Wait Beneath the Furnace Blast” sung to the Lutheran hymn
tune “Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott” (“A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, from
Psalm 46).

I have heard the
Hutchinson Family Songs performed on stage and in recordings. Unfortunately, there is no recording of their
actual voices since they lived before this was possible. I only recently found the lyrics of their
songs. I’m posting the lyrics here for
the Third American Civil War Blog Challenge hosted by Bill West.

Get Off The Track!

by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr.

Ho!
the car, Emancipation,

Rides majestic thro' our nation

Bearing on its train, the story

Liberty! a nation's glory.

Roll it along! Roll it along!

Roll it along! thro' the nation

Freedom's car, Emancipation

Roll it along! Roll it along!

Roll it along! thro' the nation

Freedom's car, Emancipation.

Men
of various predilections,

Frightened, run in all directions;

Merchants, editors, physicians,

Lawyers, priests and politicians.

Get out of the way! Get out of the way!

Get out of the way! every station,

Clear the track of 'mancipation.

Get out of the way! Get out of the way!

Get out of the way! every station,

Clear the track of 'mancipation.

All true friends of emancipation,

Haste to freedom's rail road station;

Quick into the cars get seated,

All is ready, and completed.

Put on the steam! Put on the steam!

Put on the steam! All are crying,

And the liberty flags are flying.

Put
on the steam! Put on the steam!

Put on the steam! All are crying,

And the liberty flags are flying.

Hear
the mighty car wheels humming!

Now look out! the engine's coming!

Church and statesmen! hear the thunder!

Clear the track! or you'll fall under.

Get off the track! Get off the track!

Get off the track! all are singing,

While the liberty bell is ringing.

Get
off the track! Get off the track!

Get off the track! all are singing,

While the liberty bell is ringing.

See
the people run to meet us;

At the depots thousands greet us;

All take seats with exultation,

In the car, Emancipation.

Huzza! Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!

Huzza! Huzza! Emancipation

Soon will bless our happy nation.

Huzza! Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!

Huzza! Huzza! Emancipation

Soon will bless our happy nation.

Huzza!

“Get off the Track” was sung to the tune of “Dan
Tucker”. The 1844 lyrics were written by
Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. and published Boston: Henry Prentiss, April 1844. The cover shows a train labeled with the
names of three well known abolitionist newspapers “Herald of Freedom”, “American
Standard” and “Liberator”. In the
background two trains have crashed, labeled “Clay” and “Van Buren”, two
Democratic (pro-slavery) candidates. You
can find this song also in the book The Anti-Slavery Harp; A Collection of Songs for Anti-Slavery
Meetings. Compiled by William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave(Boston: Bela Marsh, 1848)

In 2011 I visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History and was surprised to see the sheet music for the Hutchinson Family song "Get Off the Track!" on display. We were excited to find a bit of family history in our nation's most famous history museum!

------------------

The Slave’s Appeal

by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr.

Over the mountain, and over the moor,

Comes the sad wailing of many a poor slave;

The father, the mother, and children
are poor,

And they grieve for the day their freedom to have.

Pity, kind gentlemen, friends of
humanity,

Cold is the world to the cries of God's poor,

Give us our freedom, ye friends of
equality,

Give us
our rights, for we ask nothing more.

Call us not indolent, vile and
degraded,

White men have robbed us of all we hold dear;

Parents and children, the young and
the aged,

Are scourged by the lash of the rough overseer.

Pity, kind gentlemen, friends of
humanity,

Cold is the world to the cries of God's poor,

Give us our freedom, ye friends of
equality,

Give us
our rights, for we ask nothing more.

And God in his mercy shall crown
your endeavors,

The glory of heaven shall be your reward;

The promise of Jesus to you shall be
given,

"Enter, ye faithful, the joy of the Lord."

Pity, kind gentlemen, friends of
humanity,

Cold is the world to the cries of God's poor,

Give us our freedom, ye friends of
equality,

Give us
our rights, for we ask nothing more.

The song “The
Slave’s Appeal” was adapted by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr. from H. Piercy’s “The
Beggar Girl” circa 1798. The original
music score can be found at the website of the Levy Collection of Sheet Music
at Johns Hopkins University http://levysheetmusic.mse.jhu.edu/

Both of
the songs “The Slave’s Appeal” and “Get off the Track” were often greeted with
mob violence. The Hutchinson Family
friend, Francis Bicknell Carpenter (1830 – 1900) said that Abby “would look
directly into the eyes of the mob leaders, invariable with the effect of
subduing the unruly spirits” [ Frank
Carpenter, New York Home Journal,
December 7, 1892] Frank Carpenter also
did a portrait of Abby Hutchinson which hangs in the collections of the Lynn,
Massachusetts Historical Society.

I've written many blog posts about the Hutchinson
Family Singers. You can find this tag
listed in the right hand column and click on it to read all these posts. These three blog posts about the Hutchinson Family
Singers give the most genealogical information:

Copyright

You may NOT use the contents of this site for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the author and blog owner. Commercial purposes includes blogs with ads and income generating features, and/or blogs or sites using feed content as a replacement for original content. Full content usage is not permitted.

My Family Tree Information

Google+ Followers

Followers

Networked Blogs

About Me

Author of the Nutfield Genealogy blog and occasional genealogy speaker. My family research includes Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, with a smattering of Nova Scotia. Please contact me if you see your ancestors on this blog. I would love to share information. I am the former secretary of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society, former President of the Londonderry Historical Society, member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Mass. Society of Genealogists, The National Genealogical Society, and the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists.